Emergency stretchers are commonly employed in emergencies to quickly move an injured person to safety (e.g., moving a downed firefighter from a burning building, moving an injured soldier from the battlefield, etc.). Rescue stretchers are typically constructed using some type of body support member and a complex system of individual straps that are fixedly attached at various positions over the body support member to secure and restrain an individual on or within the body support member. Such rescue stretcher designs are problematic for various reasons.
For instance, the complex strapping configurations for such devices require manual engagement of many fasteners and various adjustments to the straps, which can be burdensome and time consuming. Indeed, in emergencies, there may not be time to fully or properly engage every strap of the rescue stretcher device or make the proper adjustments to properly secure the person in the rescue stretcher. Moreover, such rescue stretcher devices typically utilize the body support member as a primary means for securely restraining the body of the individual during a lifting or dragging operation of the stretcher, while the strapping systems merely secure the individual on or within the body support member. With such rescue stretcher devices, the body support members are typically designed having complex, elaborate frameworks that are bulky and heavy, which places practical limitations on the manner in which such devices can be used. For example, when used by military and rescue worker personnel, it can be difficult to carry such bulky and heavy rescue stretchers to a location that cannot be reached by a rescue vehicle to reach an injured person, or otherwise manipulate, drag or haul an individual on the rescue stretcher in or through constrained spaces.